I Will Always Think About You
by sweetrango
Summary: It was just going to be another hot L.A summer. All work no play, that’s usually how it was for the life of Vera Prindle— until the vulgarity of a bassist gangster and the charms of a jaunty blue haired singer ruined it all. But maybe this was just the summer fling she needed? ...or was there something more sinister hiding behind the playful facade of Gorillaz?
1. And So It Begins

The tantalizing aroma of sizzling beef patties saturated the air thick around the tightly run kitchen. Morty stood behind the grill scooping up the frying patties with a spatula and flipped them, allowing for another burst of flavor to fill the air. Multitasking, he lifted a hefty takeout box full of fries and a triple cheeseburger to set on the counter, also ringing the 'Ready' bell. "Order up, Vera!"

I quickly grabbed the hot steamy meal and rolled from the pickup window on my roller skates to the large lot filled with cars parked next to numbered columns. I drifted over to number six where the 1969 corvette stingray sat."Here's your meal sir." I said with a plastered smile, leaning towards the window.The man smirked at me, carefully taking the box and handing it to his friend in the passenger seat. He ran a hand through his black and red hair. It looked like flames. "Thanks, baby." He looked me over with invading eyes and I suddenly felt self-conscious in my work uniform of a super short pink halter dress. The man fished through his wallet and took out two twenty dollar bills— plenty more than what the meal cost.

"Oh, sir, that's way too much money. The box cost thirteen ninety-five." I quickly intervened, feeling my cheeks warm up in a hot blush. That was an incredible tip, but if the boss saw me take it, I'd be screwed. But he persisted, taking my hand and crushing the money in my clasp. "Just take it, sweetheart. Know it's from your boy, Hisoka."

Oh my god this guy was such a creep. I plastered on another faulty smile and gave a simple nod before skating off with the money in hand. I'd rather try to hide the extra cash from my greedy boss than to spend any more time with that guy. Anyway, it was worth it. Another twenty dollars towards that sweet apartment on Belmont street. I couldn't stand the dinky apartment I lived in now. Just the sheer thought of the creaky, tiny, damp catastrophe sent a bitter chill down my spine. Wiping my sweaty forehead with my arm, I entered the steamy pick-up window once more to retrieve another order. Why the heck wasn't the first hour over with yet? Once the clock hit ten o clock, I shimmied out of my roller skates and ran to the car in the back lot that was waiting patiently for me.

"Hey, where's my meal?!" My best friend Melanie jokingly screamed from the driver's window.

With an exasperated laugh, I rounded the car and slid myself into the passenger seat. "Hey, Mel…" I breathed, dropping my head back against the seat. I was so exhausted. I couldn't even think of coming back tomorrow to do it all over again. The car's engine revved and Mel drove us far from that sweatshop of a place towards my home— one terrible place to another. I blindly reached my hand over and flopped it against her cheek. "Thanks for driving me. The car should be finished tomorrow."

Did I also mention that my car was a lemon? Okay, maybe it didn't look so much like one on the outside, but on the inside yes. Luckily it would be ready to pick up from the shop tomorrow, and it was just walking distance from my apartment so I didn't need to bother Mel again to cart me around.

"No prob, babe." She grinned, swatting my limp arm away from her face.

Sooner or later we managed to get past that wonky LA traffic and landed in front of my gross apartment. Mel put the car in park. "Wakey wakey." She said, looking down at my sleeping form.When I noticed we were home I gave her the biggest pouty face I could muster.

"Nope, time to go inside." Mel reached over and unbuckled me. "Do you mind if I go inside for a minute?"

I gave her a weird look but nodded and slinked out of the car, fishing for my keys in my pocketbook. I didn't see why just talking outside in the car was such a problem; I saw it as more time for me to stay out of the apartment, but if she wanted to come in, fine. We hitched up the small flight of stairs before I unlocked my door and we entered inside. I had at least twenty fans going and all the windows open. I threw down my skates on the floor and my pocketbook on my pullout bed. The stench was horrid, but at least most of it had been aired out.

"Oh god, what happened?" Melanie exclaimed, gripping her nose with her fingers.

"My toilet got backed up." I tried to sound nonchalant but honestly when the confession left my mouth my whole body lit up in flushed embarrassment. When Mel started to laugh, I spun around and snapped, "It's not cause I took a big shit or anything okay? The plumbing sucks here." I took a big sigh and collapsed down on my pullout. This sucked so much. I felt like crying.I guess tears did spring to my eyes because Mel suddenly stopped laughing and rushed over to sit next to me.

"Hey, I'm sorry." She replied softly, hanging an arm over my shoulders.

I just nodded. Soon. I'll be out of here soon. Just gotta save up a little bit more and then that apartment on Belmont is mine.

Suddenly, I could see Mel begin to grin out of the side of my eye.

"What? What is it?" I turned to her with squinted eyes.

She flipped her blonde hair dramatically. "I'm the bestest friend in the whole world."

I was slightly surprised at the statement and sat back so I could look at her fully. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes." She grinned wider and pulled out a pair of tickets from her back pocket. "I know you have an early shift tomorrow…. so I thought I could bring you to the FunSun Festival. There are gonna be a lot of cool bands there, and honestly, I think it would be nice for you to take a fun break."

My jaw must have been on the floor because Mel started giggling at me. That was when I propelled myself on top of her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Really? Oh my god, you really are the bestest friend ever! Yes, I'd love to go!"

We hugged for a good minute straight before I finally retracted. "Let me drive."

"No, cmon this is my treat to you!"

I shook my head. "Melanie, you've been driving me around forever. Let me drive. I'll have the car." I tried to put on my most persuading face.

After a moment, she gave a sigh and agreed. Tomorrow was going to be fantastic.

**BeepBeepBeep!** The alarm clock sent off an annoying shrill, shocking me right out of peaceful sleep. I let out a humongous groan at the thought of having to get out of bed and slammed my hand down on the snooze button. My tired body fought to gain a few more minutes of sleep, but my brain stayed wired towards starting the day. I lifted my crusty eyes towards the alarm clock to see 11:23 AM. Oh man, it was almost noon.

Wait— NOON?! I SLEPT IN! My body catapulted out of the bed and I rushed to my closet to strip out of PJs and into my work uniform. Shitshitshit. I must have forgotten to set my alarm for the morning shift. I was supposed to go in at 9:30! Oh man my boss was gonna kill me.

After quickly washing up and snagging a granola bar, I rushed outside to jump into my car—

That's right. _No car._

"Dammit!" I screamed, stomping on the concrete. This was so not fair. I was also supposed to pick up my car before I left for work this morning.

Okay. Don't panic. Luckily the shop was walking distance. But I had a better idea. I slipped on my roller skates and started my way down the road when suddenly I hit the breaks. The whole street was covered in cracks and potholes and not to mention slightly slanted downward. I had never roller-skated over rough terrain. This was going to be great.

Deep breaths Vera, you can do this. You've been skating at work for a long time now, you're a pro. Just avoid the potholes and you'll be fine.

I propelled myself forward. You got this, you got this.

I slid down the road and zoomed past a corner seemingly like a breeze. I was doing it. Really doing it! Yes! The shop is just a few yards away now! It's right—

Instantly, my skate got caught in a deep crack in the sidewalk and I went tumbling down. I think I'll just walk the rest of the way.

When I finally got my car I made sure to floor it to work.

Luckily it was so busy today because of all the people going to the festival that my boss didn't even notice me slip in late. Each hour was overly grueling and I felt like all of us waitresses were scrambling around with our heads chopped off. The only thing that kept time interesting was the fact that I kept a mental tally of every customer that called me 'baby', 'sweetheart' or any other pet name. I hated it. I wasn't anyone's 'baby'. Besides, they were simply calling me those things because of this ridiculous slutty uniform. So annoying. Why couldn't they just take their food and go? But no, it must be a crime not to have small talk.

I heaved a deep sigh as I punched out my timecard. Cheer up, it was time to get ready for the festival now! I swung home real quick to shower and change into a pair of new clothes— taking a short moment to apply some makeup as well— before heading back out to grab Melanie. She was so excited when she saw me that she practically jumped into the car.

"I love your hair." I complimented with a smile as I pulled back onto the main road towards the highway.

"Thanks m'lady." Mel smirked, flipping the mirror down to check her double buns. "Are you excited?"

I opened the sunroof and dialed up the music. "Heck yeah."

We zoomed down the highway at a swift speed, but when we neared the festival grounds, the traffic grew incredibly thick. We had gone from a cool 87 mph to a slow 9 mph.

Melanie groaned, slamming her head against the chair. "I just wanna get there already!"

I rolled my eyes at her. "We'll get there either way. I'm happy to spend any time with you my bestie."

"Aww. Love you, Vera. But we might as well have fun in the meantime!" Mel giggled, reaching down to turn up the music even more before standing in her seat and sticking her head out of the sunroof.

"You're nuts!" I laughed.

We stayed like that for another ten minutes. Mel kept herself propped out of my car as I scooted myself through the painstaking traffic.

"Hey, look at this jerk." Mel announced, pointing to a black Dodge Challenger Hellcat that was snaking and beeping itself through traffic a distance away.

I glanced into the rearview mirror at the imposing threat and rolled my eyes. "Where does he think he's going in such a hurry? We're all in the same boat here."

Mel narrowed her eyes at the black Challenger as it let out another series of shrieking honks. The car drew closer and closer to mine until it finally fell right at my bumper. It inched right up towards my tail and it's engine revved every time I barely pushed on the gas.

"Don't be an asshole!" Mel shouted at it, but it was hard to see the driver because of the dark tinted windows.

Right then, the traffic began to clear up slowly and I quickly pulled Mel back in her seat before going off to accelerate up to 30— then 40— then 50. The car behind me was still on my tail because we still quite boxed in from all sides. I kept my eyes trained between the road in front of me and the jerk car behind me. Unfortunately, I failed to see the sudden brake lights in front of me, causing me to slam down on my break a little late—

**THUUUDDD!**

The black Challenger smashed its front into my back bumper. All traffic was at a complete stop now. My jaw was to the floor. I couldn't believe what just happened. I just had this car fixed. _Oh. My. God_. I could feel my blood pressure shoot up and my face turn red with fury despite the tears of devastation in my eyes.

Melanie couldn't believe it either. She stuck her body back out of the sunroof and screamed at the Challenger. "Hey, fuck you buddy! Watch where you're going! You're gonna pay for this! I got your license plate number!"

Right then, the Challenger was put into park and the driver climbed out. Was he crazy?! This was a highway!

The man was tall and lean, wearing dark clothes that matched his jet black slicked hair and pointed sunglasses. He walked with a cool, calm stride towards my car, going right up to my open window.

He looked straight at Mel through his obsidian-like glasses. "First off, _fuck you_." Then he leaned down to look at me, sticking his hands in his back pockets. "Listen here quick, dollface. I'm in quite the hurry, so next time the traffic lifts I expect ya to move yous little ass into anotha lane so I can pass or else I won't mind putting anotha dent on this shitty hunk of car. Got it?"

Mel and I simply stared back at him with agape mouths until he collectively strode back to his own car and got in. It was like he timed it all because the traffic started moving once he turned his car on with the blare of his engine. I was so shocked into chickenheartedness that I did exactly what he asked for, cramming my car into a small opening towards the right lane. The Dodge Challenger shot by in an instant, continuing to honk at other cars in its way.

We stayed silent the rest of the car ride until we pulled into the parking lot of the festival. It was Mel who spoke first.

"Damn…he was hot."

"Excuse me?!" I screamed, staring at her with wide eyes. "He _hit _my car!"

"You didn't think he was sexy?"

"He was rude!"

"But still sexy." She eyed me over close with a smile. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Mel just lifted her eyebrows expectantly. Okay, he wasn't the most hideous thing in the world, but he was still a total jerk. When I didn't contest, she let out one of her signature giggles.

"Shut up. I'm pissed about what he did to my car." I snapped, clearly showing her that I wasn't going to have it.

Mel instantly stopped. "Let's go see the damage."

We slid out of the car and rounded the back to come face to face with a little dent on the bumper that was half a foot wide.

"See that's not too bad now is it?" Mel noted with a sunny grin.

My eyes skimmed the slightly scrapped up bumper and dent. I didn't want to admit it but she was right. I was expecting a whole lot worse. With a deep breath, I grabbed her arm and dragged her in the direction of the festival entrance. "Cmon, I just wanna have some fun now."

_"That's the spirit!"_


	2. The Festival

The festival was already packed thick with music lovers of all kinds. Half the people were already sunburnt too, but luckily Mel and I remembered to lather on that sunscreen. Melanie studied the lineup sheet in order to figure out our plan of attack while I sat on the grass and people watched. I enjoyed seeing everyone's own sense of festival fashion. There were even some girls wearing flower crowns. I couldn't help but to giggle at that. It was a fond memory of my own early festival days.

"Okay," Mel said, plopping down next to me in order to show me the lineup sheet. "I think we should trek to these two stages, that way we can watch the bands interchangeably. They're good bands too. The main band is actually going to play there too."

"Oh, who are they?" I asked curiously.

"They're called the Gorillaz." Mel replied, double checking the lineup list again. "I know a few of their songs. And from what I've heard it's really good. They're really popular I guess."

Honestly, I never heard of them. Seeming that my car radio didn't work and my WiFi sucked at the apartment, I couldn't really catch up with relevant music. I felt a little embarrassed, but hey, I was at this festival wasn't I? Now was my time to catch up.

"Alrighty lets go!" I exclaimed, jumping up excitedly.

Mel followed, leading me to the stages she picked out.

When we got there, everyone was packed towards the stage on the right because the first act was about to play, so Mel and I ran up to the almost empty stage on the left to secure a spot. We snagged fifth row from the gate.

We danced to three performances before the main act was close to coming up. People started to filter towards the stage we were at and soon it felt like we were packed sardines.

However, a small group of rowdy guys slipped their way all the way to the near front. The one leading the two other boys forcefully pushed people out of the way without any sincerity. He had long blue-black hair and a tattoo of a snake on his neck.

"Can you believe that jerk?" Mel pointed out with a scowl on her face.

I nodded. "He's kinda scary looking too."

Melanie narrowed her eyes, watching them closely as they pushed their way all the way to the gate. "They're all kinda scary lookin' if you ask me."

The two other guys stood behind the snake tattoo guy like he was their leader or something. The one who was shorter than the others wore a leather jacket that read "3XG" in green letters on the back. I couldn't help but to wonder what that stood for. I was pondering on that for so long that I didn't even notice the stagehands setting up the main acts equipment.

"Earth to Vera." Melanie waved her hand in front of my face.

"What?"

"The band is gonna come out! Pay attention girl!" She stated, gently turning my chin towards the stage breaking my contact with those weird guys.

Right when I turned my attention back to the stage, a deep string of bass poured out of the huge stereos. I could feel the rhythm resonate in my chest. The drummer walked out first and started his beats as well before two others appeared.

The crowd went wild. I was suddenly propelled against Mel's side.

"Calling the world from isolation…'cause right now, that's the ball where we be chained. And if you're coming back to find me, you better have good aim..."

The blue haired lead singer sang seemlessly into the microphone in front of him. Everyone in the crowd swayed in strong back and forth waves to the beat. Despite the intensity of the moment, I had a grin on my face and so did Mel. When the song ended, the crowd erupted again. The lead singer gave a small smile and waved people down so he could have a chance to speak. "Hi everybody," he announced in a very thick yet silvery British accent, "thanks for coming to see us Gorillaz. That song we just played was called Humility from our new album The Now Now, which is going on sale soon, so look out."

Melanie giggled to herself, squeezing my arm in her hand. "Aww, he's so cute! Don't you think?"

I laughed at that. Mel always fell head over heels for British men. But he was quite adorable. However, I wondered what had happened to his eyes in order for them to be completely white without pupils. Must have been some really terrible accident. My heart instantly grew heavy for him.

"I'd like to introduce our lead guitarist Noodle," the singer went on, gesturing with a long arm to an eccentric Asian girl that had the coolest purple and black guitar I'd ever seen. "and our drummer Russel," he pointed to the big guy on the drums. He also had the same eye problem as the singer. Super strange if you ask me. What could have happened? "and finally myself 2D."

"I love you 2D!" Someone from the crowd screamed, and everyone else started laughing lightheartedly.

The singer, who I guess was named 2D, cracked another smile at that comment and replied with an I love you too before finishing his little introduction speech. "Now I know most of you are wondering where Murdoc is…"

Suddenly the crowd erupted once more, so much so that I even thought the ground shook.

2D timidly scratched the back of his neck. "He can't be with us right now because he's in a little bit of legal trouble. But I'd like to introduce his replacement, our new bassist Ace!"

With that, the next song started playing as the new bassist strode out onto the stage strumming his striking obsidian bass that matched exactly with his gleaming sunglasses.

I felt my heart shoot up into my throat. It was the guy. The guy from the highway.

Mel and I instantly looked at each other with agape mouths before staring back at him. He looked incredibly into the music up there with a sly grin on his face as his fingers worked magic on the guitar. It seemed that fans of the band were hurt not to see this 'Murdoc' there, but despite the fact, they all appeared to still fall under the new bassists' hypnotic spell of deep thumpin' rhythm. The crowd cutting weirdo guys at the front of the gate bellowed and shouted in honor of Ace ever since he stepped on stage. I wondered if they knew him personally.

So Ace was his name. It made me hate him even more. 'Ace' was the type of name given to good noodles; it received responses like "great job, Ace!" with a pat on the head an a plethora of golden stickers. Well, that's what came to my mind anyway. I used to go to camp with this boy named Ace. We were like seven at the time, but the kid was already winning all these awards for being best at the athletic games and the crafts and memorizing patriotic songs. Stuff like that; good noodle stuff.

But this 'Ace'— this Ace was so not the good noodle type. I couldn't picture the name with the face.

As the song came to a close, I was able to turn to Mel without totally screaming over the stereo, "I can't believe it's him!"

"I know!" she exclaimed, shaking her head slightly with a dumbfounded expression. "Now we know why he was in such a rush earlier."

Song ended, 2D fixed the microphone he had in his hand back on the stand in front of him. "That was Sorcererz, from the Now Now as well. Before we start the next song, real quick, I'd like you to look at those screens there. A number is going to be shown in just a second, if you text **GORILLAZ** to that number there is a chance you will win passes to our secret after party later on at the end of the festival. Alright, I've done enough talking now." 2D smiled and they instantly started their next hit.

I glanced up to the gigantic screens that stood on either side of the stage to see a five digit number appear suddenly. Everyone had their phones out, typing frantically to send the message.

Melanie had her phone out as well with a big grin on her face.

"Please tell me you didn't do it!" I yelled over the music at her. She gave me a jolly little wink. "Already done!"

I groaned. But what were the chances of winning? None probably. I just didn't want to have to be in the same building as Mr. Ace over there.

When I looked back up at him, he was leaning over the edge of the stage in order to give a high five to the dude with the snake tattoo during a break in the song. See, I had a feeling they all knew each other!

"HEY, I WON!" A voice suddenly ran out from the crowd. It belonged to a younger boy who stood a few people down from Melanie.

I glanced up at my friend with a shrug. "Oh well."

She gave me a pout but a small sly smile lingered on her face. I raised an eyebrow skeptically at her before turning back to the music. I had to say it was quite enjoyable. I felt pumped up by the steaming energy of the crowd. The strong smell of sweat and pot wafted through the air and tingled my nose, but I barely noticed. Melanie and I interlocked arms and swayed back and forth to the song Saturn Barz.

The sky had turned a bright navy blue by the end of the day with the dying presence of the sun. Festival lights lit up the whole park in flashes of color like fireworks. The Gorillaz had finished their last song, so everyone was departing from the stage now. Honestly, I didn't want it to end. I didn't want this day to end! The lights, the people, the music, it was all such a great break from constantly working. That job was so shitty. The only reason I tolerated it was because I got to skate around and look at various cars. Also, I needed the cash, but that was a given.

I sent a satisfied grin towards Melanie's way, but it instantly faulted when I noticed her spot was empty. "Mel?" My heart sped up. Glancing around, I could see her nowhere upon the sea of wandering bodies until—

"VERA! I'm over here!" Her voice shouted back. My eyes followed and that was when I noticed her standing all the way stage left at the gate. She was with someone too. I weeded my way through festival goers with a frown. "What the hell is wrong with you? I thought I lost you!"

"Don't worry, you know I wouldn't leave you!" She reassured but I just kept frowning. That's exactly what she did! "Anyway, this was for good cause. I just paid Andy here for his after party invitation he won." Melanie gestured to the younger boy next to her before grinning at me. She showed me the forwarded text message from Andy on her phone. It said:

'Congratulations! You won an invite-only access pass to the Gorillaz after party! Head to the Gorillaz Merch table in order to pick up the required lanyard and for more information.'

"No way!" I exclaimed, snatching the phone out of her hand to thoroughly examine it. "How much did you pay for it?"

"Eighty-five bucks." The boy Andy intervened with a giddy smile. "I've seen the band plenty of times, I'd rather get cash for the win, and your friend was willing to pay it. Thanks again." He nodded to

Melanie then slipped away into the moving crowd. What were the chances?! I giggled in astonishment as I playfully hit Mel in the arm. "You're so nuts! I can't believe you managed to bargain for the invite!"

She strung her arm around my shoulders and we slowly made our way to the Merch tent. "I have my ways. But I'm surprised to see you so excited to go!"

Can I admit that I myself was surprised that I was excited to go? I wasn't that much of a party person but— "That band was so amazing, Mel! Of course I'm excited to go to their after party! Maybe I can see that Noodle girl's guitar up close?"

I mused at the thought while Melanie showed the Merch seller her text message to confirm her win. Luckily she was allowed to take a plus-one like we had assumed so I also got a lanyard pass. We were told the time and location of the party as well.

The building wasn't far from the festival grounds. Melanie and I arrived at the foot of a heavily secured bar entrance. The party was being held upstairs on the second floor. Flashing lights of green, blue, pink and purple danced out of the shiny windows and the sound of bass scaled down the walls and rocked the ground.

As we neared the entrance, I was able to get a closer look at the two beefy security guards checking IDs and Invites.

My arm was instantly snatched. "What are you gonna do?" Melanie whispered in my ear with slight panic. I was only 20 right now, so I couldn't legally drink. Which was such a bummer because all my friends were over the age. However—

I grew a crafty smile and pulled out an ID from my wallet, waving it in front of her face.

Mel's eyes lit up in shock as she grabbed it from my hand. "Since when did you do this?"

Okay, I was sick and tired of being the odd one out on these sort of things. I decided that I was going to get a fake ID when I had to decline my fifth invite to go out with my co-workers after a long shift. Besides, my birthday was only a few more months away; I'll just get rid of the fake then. Plus, having something a little illegal made me feel like I actually had some balls. Melanie was always bragging about the cool and risky things she did. Why couldn't I have a risky secret of my own?

I threw a playful smile at her. "You underestimate my wild side."

Melanie rolled her eyes in reply but a grin still slid onto her face. We entered the bar seamlessly thanks to our IDs and lanyards. Once we stepped in, the strong smell of booze and weed instantly burned my nostrils. The bar was relatively empty despite a few drunken stragglers lounging at rounded tables; everyone else was upstairs.

"Are you ready?" Mel cheerfully asked, eyes sparkling from the nearing strobe-lights.

I nodded. "Of course." We both giggled as we ascended the stairs into the packed Gorillaz party.


	3. Ape Party

The first thing that blinded my vision was glitter. There was glitter flying from the ceiling and on the floor and on everybody. We were instantly given feather boas from waiters and offered appetizers. The floor bounced with bodies of people and the constant energy of the music. Mel had gotten drinks so fast that I didn't even notice that she had left for the moment; I was so hypnotized by the fantastic scene in front of me. The floor was so gigantic that it was impossibly hard to spot any one of the members from the band. There must be over a hundred people here! Mel and I were a bit hungry so we hung out near the windows while binging on appetizers and slurping down our drinks. The alcohol gave a hot tingle in my throat and I felt like I was already quite tipsy when Melanie said: "Oh I see one of them!" She jabbed her pink fingernail in the direction of the drummer. He was chilling next to where the DJ fired up his beats. "Imma go talk to him. Okay, babe?" She didn't even wait for a reply before jetting off into the sea of people.

Jeez. Fan-crazy much? Or boy crazy? Probably both. Melanie was always hunting for some hunk of man. Oh well. I definitely wasn't gonna stand between her and love. My eyes wandered over the bobbing heads in a distance before I noticed a tuft of bright blue hair. Speaking of fan-crazy. Whatever! I wasn't /that/ big of a fan, I just maybe wanna say 'you have a good voice' or something. Just being polite. I set my red solo cup down on the banister of the window and made my way onto the dance floor with everyone else. I almost lost my footing however, when someone knocked right into my side. "Hey watch it!" I exclaimed, only to see the irritable face of the guy with the snake tattoo from earlier. He literally hissed at me before trudging away. Super creepy. What was his deal?

I decided not to trail on his weirdness and continued my way to the lead singer. The closer I got, the more I noticed that he was skating around in circles. People left the center of the floor wide open so that the blue-haired singer could wheel around in roller skates. He looked pretty happy as he rode to the rhythm of the music. The way his hair fluttered in the air and all that ecstatic freedom that emanated from his white eyes almost took my breath away. Was it the booze that was making my cheeks blush? My feet were cemented to the floor despite my yearning sensation to go out there and dance with him. I stood there like a fool while everyone else let their souls jive to the music.

When the next song began to decrease into its end, the singer was able to depart from his fun escapades and notice my statue-like stance. My heart tightened when he rolled over to me with a glowing, yet concerned, smile on his face. He was so close I was able to count how many uneven teeth he had. Two were missing in the front.

"Are you okay?" He asked, wide white eyes blinking tentatively.

Speak, Vera! Goddamit. My tongue felt like lead. What did he say again? "What?"

"You're not dancing." His head tipped slightly to the side. "Are you having fun?"

"This party is beautiful." The words rolled off my tongue without going through any filter. That was such a stupid reply, Vera! Shit, am I that drunk already?

He chuckled at me, which made my heart lift. "I wish I could roller-skate with you." Those words poured out just as fast as the others.

His thick eyebrows rose in surprise, but then he gave a jaunty grin. "Your wish is my command. What's your size?"

Was he serious? "Eight."

"I'll be right back." With that, he rolled away into the thick of the crowd. I stood speechless for about five minutes before he came back, a pair of yellow roller skates in his hand. "Try these on for size."

My nimble fingers took the skates and I plopped onto the glitter-covered floor to slip them on my feet. Was this a dream? Was I just about to go roller skating with an uber-popular singer? He held down an open hand once I was all laced in.

Seemed like yes, yes I was.

Upon grabbing his hand, he swooped me up and we started to go about in large circles. He was about to let go of my hand, but when I lost his support I almost fumbled down from being too wobbly. However, the singer was quick enough to grab my arm and steady me. He let out another silvery chuckle. "What's your name? I'm 2D, if you didn't know."

"Vera." I replied, trying my hardest to sober myself up enough to skate with a steady hand. But each time I looked at the floor, it slanted in whacky ways and my mind went dizzy.

"Nice to meet you, Vera." He shifted his grip to hold onto my hand. "Why don't you just focus on the music, yeah?" He looked at me with one of those glowing smiles and waited for the song playing overhead to intensify before letting some space drift in between both of us. He kept hold of me with that one hand but was free to skate to the rhythm now. He rolled backward facing me and pulled me with him, going faster and faster. I could tell he was a pro at skating; Much more than I ever was. As I watched his hips swing to the music, I began to loosen up myself and soon I didn't even notice that I had let go of his hand.

We danced together as we went round and round in what seemed like our own little skating rink. I couldn't help but to let out a gleeful laugh. This was one of the most fun nights I have ever had. Hands down. Yet half of me still felt like this was a dream. For a moment, I took my eyes off of 2D and searched for my best friend. It was hard to spot her, but eventually, I found her near the windows now talking to the drummer.2D and I danced to a few more songs before I totally zonked out on the ground. He wasn't as tired as I was, but I just assumed it was because he'd been partying a lot more than I have. He plopped down next to me. "You're a real corker at skating, have you done it before?"

I almost caught myself snorting at his question. "I work at Flo's Drive-In down near Venice. That's all I do is skate. But I'm no pro. I fell just today trying to skate down my sidewalk!"

2D simply shrugged. "Gotta fall before flying, I suppose."

When I got my skates off, 2D helped me back up. His hand was nice and warm. I gave him a sweet smile. "Thanks for letting me skate with you. How'd you get the extra pair anyway?"

"Noodle has her own pair. I thought she wouldn't mind me borrowing them." He blushed a little, as if just now feeling embarrassed for his actions. He scratched the back of his neck. "You just so happened to fit her size. I had a feeling you would anyway; that's why I offered it."

I was about to respond when suddenly I was interrupted by another voice. "Hey 2D, I'm gonna take Noodle for some ice cream, then bring her home."

My eyes slowly wandered to the tall figure. Highway guy. Ace.He wore hot pink Star shaped novelty sunglasses that concealed his eyes just as nicely as the obsidian ones he wore earlier.

"Hold on then, lemme say goodnight to her." 2D replied, jogging off in the direction Ace came.

My feet were cemented again. Even though I wanted to run away from him, I didn't. My anger began to boil all over again.He was just as shocked to see me as I was to see him. But instead of my scowl, he wore a sly grin.

"Well hello, dollface." he mused, "what are—"

"I want you to pay for the damage!" I instantly interrupted, poking a finger in his face. I was not going to let him get away with this. Even though he was apart of a really cool band, I really didn't give a shit about his fame status.

His arched eyebrows rose above the sunglasses at my interruption and his smile slipped down into a frown. "Listen, dollface, I barely even nicked your car, okay? Let's just say I was in a bad mood and late to rehearsal and I'm sorry, alright?"

His apology didn't sound sincere; actually, it was more on the tone of aggravated. I didn't remove my scolding finger from his face.

"First off, stop calling me dollface." I began, "Second, that's a pretty lame excuse for HITTING MY CAR! Not to mention you got out and threatened me!"

I could tell he gave me an eye roll under those ridiculous glasses and muttered, "I wouldn't use the word 'threatened'." He took my finger and curled it back into my palm. "You want money then, sweet cheeks? Fine." Ace slipped out his wallet from his back pocket and grabbed five twenty dollar bills. "Here. Is that enough to cover it? Or do ya need my whole fuckin' wallet to fix the teeny scratch?"

For a second, I felt like I should be guilty taking his money like this. But taking one look at his sour expression, I snatched the money and pocketed it. "You're a jerk."

His sour face twisted into a plastered smirk. "Thanks."

Just then 2D appeared next to Ace. "She's at the door." He gestured in the direction to where Noodle stood, leaning against the door frame. 2D glanced from me to Ace with his big white eyes and grew a jolly smile. "You've met my new friend, Vera?"

Ace nodded. "Vera…" my name rolled off his tongue slowly as if he was tasting every syllable. "Yeah, I've met her." He casually slid off his sunglasses to finally reveal his eyes. They were dark but appeared pink due to the lights overhead. Those eyes glared at me. It was almost like he was trying to tell me not to say anything stupid in front of his current employer. I gave him a crafty smile in return.

"Oh, we met earlier on the highway when he hit my car."

I could almost see the seething anger through his eyes, piercing me like daggers. But on the outside, he remained as cool as a cucumber, turning to 2D with a faulty smile. "It was just an accident, 'D."

2D looked us both over with skepticism before letting out a light chuckle. "Don't you be pullin' a Murdoc now, Ace." He gestured to his eyes with two fingers; however, his smile began to dwindle as if what he just said bothered him inwardly.I had no idea what he was referencing, but I guess Ace did because he responded with a reluctant chuckle. There was a soft tension in the air all of a sudden.

"Uh, imma get goin'." Ace said suddenly, "I know Noods is waitin'."

I couldn't help but notice his eyes slip towards mine before they hid back under those starry glasses. I watched him stride away through the bodies of people until he reached the young guitarist, holding his arm up so she could link her own arm with him.

"I'm gonna get going too." I muttered aloud. Ace was about to exit with Noodle when he was stopped by snake tattoo guy and the two other friends. It was a small exchange, but Snake tattoo guy handed off a black pocket knife and a rolled up bag of pot into Ace's hand. The whole transaction didn't seem to be noticed by Noodle, who was texting on her phone with her free hand. Pocketing the items, Ace gave the others a nod. Suddenly, my line of vision was disrupted by 2D.

"Don't you wanna stay longer?" He asked, a soft expression on his face. My mind was a jumbled mess at the moment; what did Ace need with a pocket knife? I felt unsettled by that exchange, but something told me that Noodle wasn't going to be in any danger from him. She looked like she could handle herself. Still, the whole thing was creepy.

On another note— Melanie. Was she still with that guy? I needed to find her.However, the tone of disappointment laced in 2D's voice made my heart tremble. "I'm sorry," I mustered, "It's getting late, and I still have to find my friend."

"I get it." He nodded in agreement, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. "We're playing at the Blue Monkey a week from today, seven o clock; I was wondering if you'd like to peep on in?"

His cheeks lit up in pink. I couldn't tell if it was the colored lighting overhead or really his blush. The whole ordeal made me blush as well. "Blue Monkey? That's right in my neighborhood. I'd love to go." I gave him a warm smile and thanked him before heading into the crowd.

"Thanks for the chat! And all…!" I heard him call after me.

I couldn't believe this night. So much had happened, and half of it didn't even seem real. I wandered the perimeter of the party a few times before finally stumbling across Melanie. She was hanging out at the bar, draped over the counter as she spoke with the bartender.

"Hey, Mel." I said, interrupting their conversation. "It's getting late."

Melanie looked me over with shiny eyes and a goofy grin. I could tell she was pretty drunk by now. That was definitely my cue to start leaving. With a huff, I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the building careful not to let her fall on top of me.

Once I managed to get her in the car, the drive home was easy. The only thing that lingered in my mind was 2D's offer. He wanted to see me again. My heart fluttered at the thought, but I had to remember not to get too ahead of myself. I had made a friend. An adorable, very popular friend. And I couldn't wait to see him again.


	4. Damn Bassist

"What do you mean I only have two months before the foreclosure?!" I exclaimed into my poor cellphone. I was talking to the woman in charge of real estate for the apartment on Belmont street. I had managed to convince her that I was going to pay the whole thing in cash up front. I had already put in half of the money so that the deal would be legitimate. I was the best bid. But now she was telling me that if I didn't come up with the rest of the money fast, then she would give the apartment to another interested buyer.  
Two months would never be enough time. I could feel my hand shaking as I gripped the phone to my ear. "Okay, I'll see what I can do. Have a good day." I whispered; my throat dry. I was about to set the phone down on my coffee table before it went off in a starling ring. Who could it be now? I didn't feel like talking to anyone else. Running a hand through my hair, I noticed that the call was from my mom. I hesitantly picked it up with a sigh. "Hi Mom…"

"Hi, sweetheart!" Her voice screamed through the device. I had to hold it an inch away from my ear. "How's it going down there?"

Taking one look around my dilapidated apartment, I wanted to exclaim that I was living in a shit hole and that nothing could ever beat my cozy clean bed back at home. But of course I didn't. "It's going well."

That wasn't a complete lie. Despite the horrible news on my dream apartment, I was having a great time adjusting to California ever since I moved here two years ago, and Melanie was such a great support system. Plus, going to that festival last week had really brought my mood up— it felt nice to meet new people. 2D had been such a sweetheart.

"Well, that's great to hear!" She responded gleefully, "I want you to come back home to Townsville."

I nearly toppled over on my chair when I heard that. _"What?"_

The last thing I wanted was to fly all the way over there! Of course, it would be nice to see my parents but I was finally free from that place! All of the horrid memories from my childhood threatened to flood back in but I managed to block them out with some deep breathing. "Mom. Why?"

"I miss you, Vera!" She sounded sincere but there was something hiding behind that tone. I stayed quiet until she finally broke: "Okay, Okay; your father has been running for town office, and he's finally going to be inducted as mayor. I know he'd really want you to be there!"

I physically cringed. "Mom, I really don't have the time or money to—"

"I'll pay for your flight!" she exclaimed, full of hope. "Please…just come?"

The eagerness in her voice made my heart heavy. I know she really wanted to see me, and I knew how much my appearance would mean to my father; maybe it wouldn't hurt to go just for a few days? Plus, I missed them too. I let out a breath that I'd been holding in forever. "Okay. Alright. I'll go."

"Great! I'll buy your tickets and everything. Don't worry about it! I'll talk to you soon then!"

We said our 'goodbyes' and that was it. I was going back home to Townsville. I suddenly grabbed my keys and fled the apartment. I had to tell Melanie everything.

The next day I arrived at work with one minute to spare. Tonight was the concert at the Blue Monkey. I was able to get a ticket last minute before they all sold out. When I went to Melanie's house yesterday, I told her everything from the deadline on my future apartment to my trip back home, but I kept my mouth shut about this second Gorillaz concert. I wanted to go alone, and I knew if I said anything, then she'd want to come with me. Plus, I know she'd get a little jealous if I told her I was personally invited by the British boy. I didn't want to deal with any of that right now.  
A puff of hot, hamburger saturated steam blew straight in my face just as I rolled over to the pickup counter.

"Morty, how can you stand this heat?" I groaned, grabbing two meal boxes.

The rotund chef snorted and wiped a string of sweat from his forehead. "Who said I could stand it? At least I can be around the sweet smell of burger." He smirked and flipped a sizzling patty.  
I had worked for about five hours before I was ready to clock out. But before I did, I skated over to the Boss's office. Deep breaths. I hated talking to him, but it needed to be done. Knocking on the ajar door politely, I rolled in slowly. "Mr. Sorento?"  
The older man glanced up from his laptop with an irritated look.

"Uh, sir, I'm sorry but I need to take some personal time off. Two weeks from now I have to fly home; family stuff. It would just be about four days off." My throat grew dry as he simply stared me down. "P-please sir?"

He slowly shut the laptop and arched his fingers chapel style. "Then you're going to have to work over time. Starting tonight."

Instantly my chest released its inner tension. He rarely gave those many days off. I couldn't help but smile, "Thank you sir! I'll start right away—"

Wait a minute. Overtime? Starting tonight? I froze at the door. Oh no, the Blue Monkey! The show started at seven, I wouldn't make it in time!

"Is there something wrong, Vera?" Mr. Sorento questioned in a bitter tone.

I couldn't push him even more so I just shook my head. "No, everything is fine." With that, I skated back to the pickup window. Maybe if I worked fast enough, he'd let me go in just a few hours. I'd still be able to catch the last bit.

It was 9:45 when I was finally let out. I had to only assume the concert was still going until ten. I threw myself in my car and zoomed all the way to the small rock house. I didn't even care that I still had my uniform on, it was too late to go home and change. The tiny venue was packed to the gills when I arrived, but not in the way I would have liked it. People were disembarking outside instead of inside. _Don't tell me I missed it!_  
I ran up to the building, snaking through bodies of people and managed to sneak myself into the venue without even my ticket. The floor was nearly empty; all except a few stragglers that were excitedly waiting to grab the setlist when the roady peeled it off the ground. There were no band members or even leftover microphones to be taken. All that was left was the drum set and a guitar waiting in its case. I felt tears gather in my eyes. I couldn't help it. Today sucked. I was so excited to see my new friend 2D, but now he wasn't even here. I hated my job. If it weren't for that stupid job then I would have gotten here on time and had a fun night. I wandered to the side of the stage and plopped down on the stairs, resting my head on the support beam. Just as a tear fell from my eye, a presence emerged beside me.

"Hey-ya dollface, is that you?" The New York accent stunned my ears.

I quickly wiped away the embarrassing tear and glanced up to see Ace looming over me. He had no sunglasses on this time so his dark and naked eyes peered down towards mine.  
Just great. I didn't need this jerk to see me crying.

"Yeah, it's me." I stood with a small frown. "And I was just about to leave." Just as I turned, he reached out and grabbed my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. He could see the shiny trail of the tear streaming down my cheek thanks to the stage lighting.

"You cryin'?" His voice actually sounded concerned.

I shrugged his hand away and spat, "No. Don't touch me."

He raised his hands innocently. "Hey, I see a girl in distress, I get concerned. Unfortunately, ya still turned out to be a bitch so…" Ace turned away to climb back onto the stage, but I quickly slipped ahead of him.

"Excuse me?! You're a real gentleman, aren't you? Why do you have to be so rude?" I swatted an accusing finger at him.  
He looked up at me with indignant eyes that seemed to glow in the dark shadows of the stage wing. A few strings of his jet black hair hung out of place but he swiftly brushed them away. "If this is still about the stuff on the highway, I tried to apologize. Not my fault you keep a stick up your ass." Ace took one step up and suddenly he was towering over me. He smelt like sandalwood. "And again with the finger pointing—" his eyes slipped down to my jabbing finger of accusation that was still lifted towards his chest. "If ya don't put that little finger away then I'll—"

"You'll what?" I shot back, lifting my finger up to boldly bop his pointy nose.

He seemed even more irritated but at the same time, he grew a soft ironic smirk. Those eyes were staring into mine with silence until he finally replied, "Actually, ya look a bit familiar, dollface. We've never met before last week?"

"I highly doubt it." I narrowed my eyes slightly, wondering if he looked familiar as well. But I couldn't pinpoint anything. We stood in silence for a moment longer, simply searching each other's eyes. The air felt thick and tense. I retracted my gaze when the sudden shrill of a car horn was heard from outside in the front. It was in this moment when I actually realized he had a gentle grip on my hand, the one responsible for bopping his nose.  
Ace noticed as well, and as if he was in shock, he jolted backward running both hands through his hair. "Uh, I gotta get goin' sweet cheeks. I was truly graced by your presence." The last sentence held bitter and sarcastic undertones. The bassist limbered up onto the stage, reaching down to lock up his bass guitar in its case. The guitar was a white one this time with a few stickers on it. One of the stickers was green and read 'GX3', another was a skull and the third was a cartoon picture of three little girls— but I couldn't make out who they were as he shut the case. However, it was the 'GX3' sticker that struck a chord with me. I had seen that on one of his friend's jackets.  
Taking a deep breath, I climbed up the rest of the small steps onto the stage. Trust me, I wanted nothing but to run out of there and go home, but I was curious. Ace shot me an irked glance but ignored me and started towards the exit door, case in hand.

"Hey, what does 'GX3' mean?" I asked, following him out the door. "Is it like 'G times three' or something?"

I could tell Ace was suddenly over the whole conversation thing as he sighed when I spoke again. But he still replied, "It's short for Gangreen Gang."  
I gave him a funny look when I heard that but he kept his gaze straight forward. When we neared his black Challenger, he popped the trunk and carefully placed his guitar in.

"Isn't gangrene like a disease or something?" I questioned, raising an arched brow. What a strange name for a gang.  
Ace slammed down the trunk with a huff and leaned on it, finally turning to look at me. "Yeah, but that's different. Our name is GanGREEN; like in the color?"

Still weird. "So you're really in a gang? Like a boy band?" I couldn't help but poke fun at him.

But he did not seem to be in the mood all of a sudden. "No, not like a 'boy band'. How come you're just full of questions now? I thought you couldn't stand me."

"I saw one of your buddies at the festival. He was wearing a jacket that said 'GX3' on it. Then I saw it on your guitar. So I was curious."

Ace simply ignored me and slid into his car, waking the Challenger up with a rev of the engine. I frowned slightly but went up to his rolled down window. "Can you tell 2D I'm sorry that I missed the concert? He's the one that invited me here tonight."

"Oh is that why you were cryin'?" He reached into his glove compartment and slipped on those obsidian glasses. "You missed seeing the Brit boy. You one of them fan girls or somethin'?" A judgmental grin grew on his face.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I wasn't crying!" _That was a big fat lie._ "And I'm not some stupid fangirl. I barely even knew about the Gorillaz before I saw you guys at the festival." _And that was the truth._  
I could tell Ace didn't seem to believe me as he threw out a light chuckle.

"'Kay, babe. I'll tell 'em, don't you worry." He slid down his glasses and winked at me.

I simply rolled my eyes and backed away from the car. "Why are you wearing sunglasses? It's night."

Ace pushed the glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "They help me see better."

I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. He cracked a smirk and instantly zoomed off. He was so weird. I had never met someone so oddly complex in my life; one minute he's pissed off, the next minute he's all flirtatious, and then he's acting all weird. With a sigh, I made my way back to my car which I had to park in the parking garage a block over. It had quieted down significantly ever since I had arrived, so I was pretty much the only one out. As I neared the garage, I could hear voices in a distance and it sounded like they were coming from the alleyway up ahead.  
I made sure to quiet my steps. Someone sounded like they were in distress as I heard, _"Hey, I can't help you. Just let me go!"_  
My eyes widened. Was someone in trouble? My heart sped up as I inched towards the corner, right where the voices were coming from. I had to pass by the alley to get into the garage, but I had a feeling in my gut that was a bad idea. Bracing myself, I slowly turned my body in order to peep around the corner.  
To my unfortunate horror, Snake tattoo guy from the festival and party was standing there holding another dude up to the wall sheerly by the neck. There was also a third person as well. He was the short one I had seen before wearing the 'GX3' jacket. Actually, the two were wearing the same leather jacket tonight.

"Don't lie to us, man. You know where he's being moved to." Snake tattoo guy hissed, tightening his grip on the poor man's throat.

The man squirmed, trying to pry the hand from his throat but continued to fail miserably. "I-I told you! I don't k-know!"

Snake tattoo guy frowned and suddenly threw the man to the ground. "Have at 'em, Lil Arturo."

Right then, the shorter guy, Arturo, grabbed the man by the shirt collar and decked him right in the jaw a few times. "C'mon man—c'mon, tell us where! C'mon!"

The man weakly raised his arms up to try to protect his bloody face. "Okay…okay! He's…he's being moved to—"

A rock was kicked out from my feet as I shot myself boldly across the open alleyway. Shit, shit. Did they see? I didn't look back and ran as fast as my legs could carry me. The only thing I heard was, _"Hey, what was that?"_ But I just kept going until I got to my car, throwing myself in. I sped out of there right as I put the keys in the ignition.


	5. Some Humility, Please

The events of the night before played like a broken record in my mind as I leaned up against the take out counter, drumming my fingers unconsciously as I waited for the food. Those were Ace's friends for sure. What did they want from that poor guy?  
Morty hit the little bell next to the grill, jogging me out of my thoughts to grab the to-go ready meals. I skated over to a parked punch buggy and handed off the food. The driver quickly paid me then was off; I expected another car to take the buggy's place but instead, another human was standing there. A blue-haired human.  
I nearly tipped over on my skates when I saw 2D standing there. He smiled nonchalantly and rolled right up to me.

"So this is where you work, huh?"

My mouth was still on the ground. It took me a minute to reply; "Uh, yeah— yup. It's quite…." I looked around at my surroundings. "..the shithole."  
My cheeks lit up in hot blush. I couldn't believe he was here! Suddenly however, I remembered last night and a saddened frown grew on my face. "About last night, I'm really sorry I didn't make it in time. I was looking forward to seeing you— you guys, again."

2D nodded and placed his hands in his back pockets. "It's fine. Ace told me." Right then he lifted up his leg to show me his skate. "Can I skate around with you again? I know this is your work but I wouldn't be—"

"Yes." The reply tumbled out. I didn't care if I got in trouble. Finally, I'd be having some actual fun at work and a friend to keep me company. "Obviously I still have to deliver meals but you can just follow me around. Mr. Soretto barely leaves his office so I think we'll be fine anyway." I grinned.  
2D grinned back and rolled a circle around me before stopping by my side, holding an arm out for me to link with. We skated to and fro from the pickup box to the awaiting cars for what seemed like hours, sometimes doing little circles and twists in between. I had no idea why he would ever want to do this with me. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed his company. Those white eyes were filled with so much happiness it radiated right into my aura.

"Hey 2D, can I ask you a question?" I asked, finally able to muster up some words after a long while of silence.

"Lemme check—" he paused as if double checking with himself then said, "Yeah you can ask me a question."

I blushed slightly. "Why are you here? Like… with me? Doing this?" The question was weird but I was curious. I mean, given who he was, I was just some random average girl. And he had a super awesome band. Wouldn't he have millions of friends and fans already?  
2D paused momentarily, as we were currently skating figure 8's together, in order to really think about the question. Then he replied, "Well, we're always busy, ya know? On the road with tours and the like. But this summer we're staying in Los Angeles. So, I was thinkin' to me-self, why don't I try to make friends for once? I'm gonna be here for a while, might as well." He gave a small shrug before his eyes wandered to mine. I could see him blushing softly as well. "You seemed cool. At the party." 2D trailed off after that, and I could tell he was suddenly having trouble trying to find the right words to explain further, but I understood. I understood how it felt to not have a lot of friends, but I was fortunate to have Melanie.  
I rolled closer to the blue haired singer, instantly noting that he smelled delightfully of peppermint, and held out my hand. He was hesitant but placed his on top of mine. We interlocked fingers and I pulled him to roll around with me in a bigger figure 8.

"You're cool too, 2D." I replied in a soft voice.

He glanced at me with those apprehensive yet delighted eyes and grew a small sweet smile. We were able to roll around a bit longer until we were interrupted with a blaring car horn. I glanced behind my shoulder to see an unattended, impatient Corvette Stingray waiting to get waited on. Usually there was another waitress on duty to be in charge of cars parked on the left side of the lot, but no one was there. She must have stepped out for a moment.

"I gotta take this." I told 2D before quickly skating over to the car. However, the closer I got, dread overcame me. It was that annoying flirt with the flaming hair from last week.

He was such a creep! Oh god, please don't be creepy again, please don't be cree—

"Hi! I'm sorry about the wait, can I take your order?" I asked with a fake grin and cheery voice.

The guy leaned closer into his open window and a sly grin slid onto his face. "Well hello again, baby. I wouldn't have honked so rudely if I knew you were coming."

I simply gave him a silent smile. I held my pen and pad out higher in front of me so that maybe he'd get the hint to just order.

"You're like the best waitress here." He went on, half hanging out of his car now. He was practically drooling. "And the most beautiful. You're the only reason I come back to this joint, you know."

"Oh, you're so kind," I replied through closed teeth. "Is there anything you'd like to order today?"

The guy glanced towards the menu plastered on the column adjacent to the car before looking back towards me— or rather, my boobs. "I'll have the vanilla milkshake."

Kill me now, kill me now! Oh god, I wanted to hurl. This guy was such a scumbag! After making note of the order, I quickly skated away, casually covering my butt with the notepad so he wouldn't be able to relish my behind view. I gave the order to Morty then reunited with 2D again.

"What's a matter?" He asked, noting my distressed expression. His thick eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"That guy I just waited on is the definition of sexual harassment." I muttered, gesturing in the direction of the Corvette with my head.

He casually glanced over to see with narrowed eyes and frowned. "Looks like a no-gooder."

I slowly hid behind 2D's frame when I noticed that the guy was looking towards my direction now. He was talking on the phone with a smile on his face. I couldn't help but perceive that he was talking about me.

"Can't you get someone else to wait on 'em?" 2D asked.

"I would but she's not here right now." I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest.

Suddenly, Morty rung his bell and served up the vanilla milkshake. I inwardly groaned, leaving 2D's side to retrieve it. However, when I turned around to bring it to the guy, he had managed to speedily creep up towards the pickup building.

He placed the car in park and hung out of the window again, this time way closer to me than I wanted. I was so shocked that he had moved his car I almost dropped the shake all over my feet.

"You didn't need to drive up to the pickup window." I said, handing him the milkshake in exchange for money.

"I thought I'd be generous and save you the trip." He replied, licking his lips as he ogled at me. "And besides, I wanted to ask you a personal question…" As he spoke he reached out and ran a finger down the side of my arm. I nearly died at his touch, instantly trying to jump back but he managed to grab my wrist.  
2D was watching the whole thing on the side, but when the guy grabbed me, he shot forward and stood in front of me. "'Ey sod off!"  
I kept my eyes trained on the assailant, but I couldn't help but to catch a glimpse at 2D's angered expression— and his _black_ eyes. The creep let go of his grip on me which was a relief but then something worse happened. He got out of his car.

"I don't know what 'sod' means but I'm guessing it's not something I'd like." He replied in a deadly tone.

"Just leave her alone." The blue-haired singer took another protective step in front of me.

The creep just chuckled. "Listen I'm not gonna let some sissy Brit prevent me from getting what I want. Now move your ass."

When 2D stood his ground, the Asian guy grew impatient with a growl, lunging forward in order to try to grab me again. However, without thinking of the consequences, I flung the entirety of the milkshake at him; the sweet dairy drink drenched his clothes and clung to his shocked face allowing a quick 2D to advance, swinging a speedy fist right to his jaw. The guy stumbled backward in pain, but then took a blind lurch forward to attack 2D. The singer was able to duck away from an oncoming punch, but he was unfortunate the second time around and a fist landed straight into his gut. I screamed, watching my friend crumble onto the pavement.  
The creep finally wiped his face of the milky drink and proceeded to target 2D, decking him right in the face for good measure. I couldn't take this anymore. I couldn't let my friend get pummeled, and I sure as hell wasn't going to run away like a coward. So I did what my gut told me to do— I kicked him in the balls.

"You got any manners?" The creep growled at me, instantly setting his vicious eyes towards me. Unfortunately, my moment wasn't as heroic as I thought because I kicked at an angle (he was hunched over 2D's limp body) and missed the bullseye. The creep suddenly yanked my skirt and caught me in his arms. But before I had time to react, we were both startled by the close and extremely loud rev of a car engine. We both looked over to see a black Challenger creep up extremely close before parking. The tinted window rolled down.

"Hey, fucko!" A New York accent arose, "What do you think you're doin'?"

The creep winced but limped over to the open window dragging me along. "Who the _fuck_ are you callin' fucko?"

Ace sat there in the car with his sunglasses on like always. I didn't know if I felt frightened or relieved to see him.

"Is that any way to treat a lady?" He asked in an innocent voice, raising an eyebrow.

"Look here bud—" the creep began, placing his hand on the car in the spot where the window would be.

"No touchy." Ace suddenly interrupted voice like poison. Ace slipped off his glasses, revealing an infuriated glare. But the creep guy ignored him, continuing on.

"—I don't care who you think you are, but this is my girlfriend. And that guy over there was trying to harass her—"

_Um, excuse me?!_

"Are you deaf?" Ace raised his voice, "Don't touch my fuckin' car!"

The creep paused in his liefest and rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Dude, it's just a—"  
But that was it. Out of nowhere, Ace flipped up a pocket knife and stabbed it through the guy's hand, impaling it like butter. The creep let out a painful screech, letting go of me in the process.

Ace quickly turned to me, voice commanding. "Get in the car."

I didn't question him; I flung open the back door and threw myself in. I watched in utter shock as Ace yanked out the knife, allowing the guy to stumble towards the ground away from the car. Then he got out, towering over the guy.

"Don't ever touch her again. Don't ever talk to her again. If I see you anywhere near her I will kill you. Understand meathead?"

When the creep didn't reply, Ace leaned down and punched him right in the face. "Understand?!" He repeated louder.

The guy nodded and began to crawl towards his own car. Ace let him go and went over to pick up 2D who was still laying on the floor. He dragged him all the way to the car, lifting him into the backseat beside me, then got into the car himself.  
Everyone was quiet as we drove away.  
I had no idea where Ace was taking us but I didn't want to speak up and ask. I was still in shock over the whole situation. I thought 2D was unconscious, but when I glanced over at him, he huddled up into a ball and leaned his head on the window. His black eyes stayed glued to the floor. His bloody nose continued to trickle out but he didn't seem to care. Feeling a pang of guilt, I reached over and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. I was the reason this all happened. 2D didn't deserve to get beat up, he was just trying to have a nice day making friends.  
He twitched slightly upon my touch, but when he glimpsed over he forced a small smile. "I'll be okay."

Ace's perturbed eyes graced the rear view mirror. "Are ya sure about that 'D?" His voice was laced with subtle concern, but I could tell he was trying not to show it. "Damn asshole," he continued in a burst of anger, "I hope his wound gets infected."

"Don't say that." 2D muttered, reaching up to grip the bridge of his throbbing nose.

"Um, where are you taking us?" I finally spoke up, leaning closer to the driver's seat in front of me.

"The studio." Ace replied pointedly like it was the obvious answer.

Oh okay.

"Shouldn't we go to the police?" I replied in the same tone. I wanted to file a report against that man. Like hell I was going to let that happen again.

"The _police_?" Ace snorted and was about to say something preferably snarky, but then paused for a moment. "Alright."

He didn't seem too happy about it, but it was the right thing to do.

I kept a watchful and concerned eye on 2D until we arrived at the police department.

"Go in, love. Dont'cha worry 'bout me." 2D muttered with a lazy wave of his hand.

I frowned at that but gave a curt nod. "I'll try to make it quick." I patted his hand then exited the Challenger. It was then when Ace killed the engine and got out as well.

"Fuck, I don't mesh well with the Fuzz, but someone's gotta back yous up."

Wow, jerkface Ace was really stepping up to the plate how sweet. I wonder how long that will last.

The whole ordeal with the police went quite well actually. They ended up calling my boss and pretty much whooped his ass for not noticing the incident. Then told him to implement better security standards for the drive in. Maybe my shitty job won't be as shitty anymore.

Unfortunately, we were there for about an hour and a half (which I was told wasn't bad at all considering), So Ace had to make frequent checks to 2D in the parking lot.

But inside, sitting in a bright orange scratchy chair, Ace held the most unsettling resting bitch face I had ever seen, and his glossy eyes jittered all around. His long nails clicked on the counter in an irritable fashion as well. When the cop began questioning him for me, the bassist replied in short, curt answers— and the nail tapping grew worse. He omitted the entire part about stabbing the creep with his switchblade. Good thing I hadn't mentioned that part already.  
When it was time to go, Ace surprised me when he crept up to the front desk on our way out to ask a question. I couldn't hear him too well, as he was hunched over the entire counter, but I did make out the name "Murdoc Niccals". The name seemed vaguely familiar but I couldn't place it at the moment. My mind was too preoccupied with the thoughts of getting back to 2D.

"Okay now we go home." Ace announced happily once we pilled back into the car. But before zooming away, with a grin that split his face from ear to ear, he held up something quite random— a pink frosted doughnut. "I stole the secretary bitch's doughnut. And a twenty dollar bill."


End file.
